I agree with kona. Everyone keeps pushing the Speedys on me, but I just don't see why for a bit more I shouldn't just go with DW 9550 and maintain that direct drive feel. Plus it matches my kick pedals. It would take the Speedys being on durastic sale for me to lean that way... More durastic than they will go on, I'm sure.

I know DW makes their stuff so solid you could virtually drop it off the Empire State Building. So solid, it actually makes me mad, in fact - trying to change from chain to nylon drive on my 9002 pedals is a NIGHTMARE because DW factory installs everything SO tight that you can barely unscrew it without stripping the screw head.

I don't see any problem with the exposed cable system. As a matter of fact I see it as being better than an encased cable.
There will be less resistance and wear points than covered cables have.
It looks like a good idea that offers a real solution to other cable remote hat stands.
It does however appear to be a bit cumbersome to set up and tear down. I think that I would have to see the stand in person to make a further decision about it.
The $250 price tag is surely a deterrent for many drummers.
I'm not implying that the stand isn't worth it or overpriced. Its just that I will have to think about buying the product a bit more.
I have three kits. I don't like to exchange gear between them. I leave one kit at the practice studio, One kit at home. The other kit stays bagged and ready to gig. I only transfer some of my cymbals. It would cost me $750 to outfit them all with this stand.

I've owned YAMAHA, TAMA, PEARL and DW remotes through the years, their downsides are many. SPEEDY is brilliant IMO.

I do see what you're saying. I don't see a problem with the exposed cable either, and I know the lighter construction would make gigging easier vs. other remotes. I'll consider it if I can come across one to play.

The last remote i bought was a PEARL RH2000 and it was around $230 (5/6 years ago... I see you can get them now for $200 on ebay, Im sure i got a clamp too though). RH2000 very heavy, doggy and a pain to set up tear down and pack and no smoother than any other remote on the market at the time.

I'm considering a SPEEDY myself, but more for its ability to 'not transfer shock' as directly as a steel rod design, the placement action would just be another plus for me.

Got to see this at the Chicago show and talk to the inventor. He is literally trying to break his and hasn't been able to do it yet. Said he's thrown it around, dropped it, etc to no avail. It felt pretty solid to me and I am a heavy/hard guy. I've snapped my DW cables before.

So, how does it feel?

Well, it feels as good as a normal (sans cable) hihat. No where does the cable bind. I've noticed on my DW cable hats I have to rotate the cable because the cable started to wear a groove in the outer sleeve causing friction and slowing response. Not an issue here.

I plan on adding one of these to my kit....

__________________"Never take life too seriously, 'cause you'll never get out of it alive!!"My Dirty Little

Thanks for the kind words guys! Here's a bit of feedback to answer some questions that have come up:

The exposed cable is not a problem. It'll take up to 480 pounds before it breaks and is designed to be very flexible and is extremely hard to kink. I've been throwing it in my hardware bag and tossing other stands on it and giving it as much abuse as possible trying to break anything to no avail. I'm somewhat OCD and make everything as bulletproof as possible--success!

As for set up, I have a long clamp that I leave attached to the upper end and when I set up (or clamp it on to the house kit's cymbal stand) I simply loosen and fold down the brace and attach it to the foot pedal section. Everything else is preset and locked in place so set up is extremely fast and it weighs very little in the hardware bag.

As for buying multiple speedy hats, one of my first customers ordered two more a while back in order to cover his studio kit, practice kit, and gig bag. Another customer has two, one ready for travel and one permanently at the home monster kit.

It makes everything you play now easier and opens up many new musical possibilities. When I have to play a normal straight hi hat stand I can play just fine, but I'm amazed at how much new vocab I have to edit out because it doesn't work with my left hand restricted underneath the right. Many have found it to be a game-changing piece of gear!

I agree with kona. Everyone keeps pushing the Speedys on me, but I just don't see why for a bit more I shouldn't just go with DW 9550 and maintain that direct drive feel. Plus it matches my kick pedals. It would take the Speedys being on durastic sale for me to lean that way... More durastic than they will go on, I'm sure.

I know DW makes their stuff so solid you could virtually drop it off the Empire State Building. So solid, it actually makes me mad, in fact - trying to change from chain to nylon drive on my 9002 pedals is a NIGHTMARE because DW factory installs everything SO tight that you can barely unscrew it without stripping the screw head.

Agreed! I got my 9000 single about 6 months ago i still have not been able to install the toe stop but it play like a beauty though, top quality product

Thanks for the kind words guys! Here's a bit of feedback to answer some questions that have come up:

The exposed cable is not a problem. It'll take up to 480 pounds before it breaks and is designed to be very flexible and is extremely hard to kink. I've been throwing it in my hardware bag and tossing other stands on it and giving it as much abuse as possible trying to break anything to no avail.

As for set up, I have a long clamp that I leave attached to the upper end and when I set up (or clamp it on to the house kit's cymbal stand) I simply loosen and fold down the brace and attach it to the foot pedal section. Everything else is preset and locked in place so set up is extremely fast and it weighs very little in the hardware bag.

It makes everything you play now easier and opens up many new musical possibilities. When I have to play a normal straight hi hat stand I can play just fine, but I'm amazed at how much new vocab I have

Im curious about the feel. Hows the stick-shock transfer on REMOTE SPEEDY?

I play barefoot, with a direct link to the top rod/hat cymbals like on conventional design HH stands, stick-shock is efficiently transfered to the foot board. I would assume SPEEDY's cable to be a poor transmitter of of stick-shock. Yes or no?

Zero stick shock to the foot would be like playing an X-Hat... not expecting zero transfer, but less is better.

I agree with kona. Everyone keeps pushing the Speedys on me, but I just don't see why for a bit more I shouldn't just go with DW 9550 and maintain that direct drive feel. Plus it matches my kick pedals. It would take the Speedys being on durastic sale for me to lean that way... More durastic than they will go on, I'm sure.

'Jurassic' is a good word to describe the DW 9K HH The thing is heavy, like approaching 30 lbs... and IMO DW's HH's don't age well, the paint fades, chips off, they start looking trashed. Their extra weight also means they're more prone to get dropped off of buildings, or at least when they do get dropped, banged around cause more damage to other gear (and you) than lighter designs.

It's not stretchy or mushy like a typical cable hat though since there's no cable housing that compresses when you play the pedal. When you play the hats with your foot you can really feel it just like a normal straight hi hat stand.

Nah....Les is very cool.......and one who's opinions on gear I ALWAYS make a point of reading. Doesn't mean I always agree, but there's 'food for thought' more often than not.

As for cons.........other than internet reviews/promo's (and Les' props), I know very little about it. I'd love to see one displayed in a store here in Oz and check it out for myself (I know it's really impractical Bill.......but it'd be cool to suss it out personally nonetheless). :-)

OK REMOTE SPEEDY users, we get there's some good with this design... now what don't you like about this hi hat, no matter how small, nit picky, what are the cons?

Les--

Here's a nit-pick for you: since owning a Speedy Hat, I might say it could come with a shorter pull-rod. However, this seems to be true of many pull-rods--and is easily remedied with a saw and a file. I cut mine shorter, and it now fits under any cymbal.

As for the foot pedal (in reply to jodgey4):

I've been staring at this pedal for some months now, and it doesn't look cheap. I use a Pearl bass pedal, and the Speedy foot board matches well. It also goes nicely with DW boards--like on Bill Bachman's kits. At the Chicago Drum Show, it was paired on a kit with a Yamaha pedal (silver board) and looked great.

Anyone using special edition gold or polished-chrome pedals will see a difference, of course--but this really is a minor consideration; the black finish with its brushed-metal touches is universally appealing. I think Bill Bachman is going to have a PASIC booth again this year. You can see it there (and also try it out).

In talking to many, many people about this hi-hat, I have found that people are hesitant to make a change mainly for that reason--they are hesitant to make a change. Most of us seem to prefer what we are familiar with--for better and for worse.

Let me make my own confession: after first obtaining a Speedy Hat, it sat in my basement for six weeks before I put it on my kit. Why? I don't know--other than that I guess that I am a creature of habit, and was hesitant to change!

When I put it up, however, I fell in love right away. The Remote Speedy Hat is super responsive and quick, and my hats are also now in perfect position. No more hand-crossing. I am a free man.

Don't get me wrong, Les is one of my favorites on here because of how much he despises Ludwig, as well as many of his other views that don't line up with mine. His criticism is always very well thought out, he's a smart man. I never doubted the quality of the pedal, but I'd have to slap some kind of sticker on there to keep it from looking too bland. If I ever wanted to get a new hi-hat stand, it'd be a Vintage Ludwig stand to match my Speed King or I'd spend the extra money to get this. Still, it's a change I'd be willing to try. This is by far the best remote hi-hat set-up you can get!

Last edited by jodgey4; 09-23-2010 at 05:29 AM.
Reason: I had a huge usless ramble in the middle

I'd say, and this only my observation from the Chicago show, is that it would be a bit of a pain to pack up to put in a case. Even my big road case. I'd have to find a new spot for the stand. A cable hat can be curled up/rolled and fit relatively easily in there, this one however, and I didn't mess with it too much cause I wasn't ready to purchase one, looked to take more time to take apart.

I absolutely hate the idea of having to completely remove screws to pack it up. And while these screw are still attached to the stand by straps or cables, I would think they would have the potential to get caught on other stands in a regular case after bouncing down the road as gear always seems to settle a bit in the case. What happens when these cables break? Now you have to keep track of the screws, which are small...

Rant/observations/thoughts over....

__________________"Never take life too seriously, 'cause you'll never get out of it alive!!"My Dirty Little

The pedal is solid as a rock. We thought about a logo sticker, but it'd get destroyed pretty quickly with a foot all over it. Maybe down the road a cosmetic change with our logo could happen, but right now all it does is work and no one has ever broken anything on the Speedy Hat.

As for set up and tear down, I'm glad you mentioned that it struck you as difficult. At the next show I'll have one in tear down mode to show that it's actually really quick and easy. Oh, and it weighs a lot less than a straight hi hat stand and it doesn't take up much space at all in the hardware bag.

Here's how tear down and set up work: To tear down I unscrew the wing screw at the foot pedal end and I've been leaving that one hanging off with the burly leather strap keeping it safely attached (I could easily screw it back in if I wanted, but it doesn't matter). I then slightly loosen the wing screw on the hi hat stand end and fold the brace up parallel to the hi hat tube and tighten it back down. I unclamp the entire upper section from the cymbal stand and then throw the two halfs of the speedy hat with the wire connecting them in my hardware bag along with everything else. Set up is the opposite, 3 steps and you're playing.

I've been using the same exact Speedy Hat in my hardware bag for going on a year now, it's been played out as often as five times a week getting set up, torn down and tortured. I intentionally throw other stands on it and yank things out of the bag if they catch the cable--I've literally been trying to break it. (If anything goes wrong, I want it to be on me and not somebody who spent their hard-earned money on it.) I've been unsuccessful though, I've never broken anything or lost any part and neither has anybody else. There are no little parts to keep track of since it all stays together and the cable takes it like a champ and comes back for more.

I idiot-proofed it and overbuilt it, and yes we're batting 1000 with both reviews and durability!

Thanks for the kind words guys! Here's a bit of feedback to answer some questions that have come up:

The exposed cable is not a problem. It'll take up to 480 pounds before it breaks and is designed to be very flexible and is extremely hard to kink. I've been throwing it in my hardware bag and tossing other stands on it and giving it as much abuse as possible trying to break anything to no avail. I'm somewhat OCD and make everything as bulletproof as possible--success!

As for set up, I have a long clamp that I leave attached to the upper end and when I set up (or clamp it on to the house kit's cymbal stand) I simply loosen and fold down the brace and attach it to the foot pedal section. Everything else is preset and locked in place so set up is extremely fast and it weighs very little in the hardware bag.

As for buying multiple speedy hats, one of my first customers ordered two more a while back in order to cover his studio kit, practice kit, and gig bag. Another customer has two, one ready for travel and one permanently at the home monster kit.

It makes everything you play now easier and opens up many new musical possibilities. When I have to play a normal straight hi hat stand I can play just fine, but I'm amazed at how much new vocab I have to edit out because it doesn't work with my left hand restricted underneath the right. Many have found it to be a game-changing piece of gear!

...but I'd have to slap some kind of sticker on there to keep it from looking too bland.

Ball down low. 2-0

Personally, I don't like the price.

Wild pitch, score this as a past ball. 3-0

Well if Jared Falk is playing one.........

Big swing and a miss! 3 balls one strike

I absolutely hate the idea of having to completely remove screws to pack it up. And while these screw are still attached to the stand by straps or cables, I would think they would have the potential to get caught on other stands in a regular case after bouncing down the road as gear always seems to settle a bit in the case.